Carrie Fancett Pagels Books in Order

Conscripted into the Confederate army, theater manager Matthew Scott is wounded and taken to a Virginia plantation. There he meets freed seamstress Angelina Rose, whose efforts to protect enslaved family members complicate their hopes for a new life.

In a Michigan lumber camp in 1890, cook Jo Christy accepts a boastful lumberjack’s challenge to match his mother’s fruitcake. Correspondence and competing recipes complicate her plan to reject Tom’s proposal and leave camp life behind.

Librarian Juliana’s livelihood is threatened when a trustee seeks to remove female staff, endangering her support for her family. A lumber-camp boss and a wealthy brewer each offer help, leaving her to consider two very different futures.

Starting over in Michigan after a traumatic attack, a store owner hopes to leave painful memories behind. A craftsman seeking work revives that past, challenging her ability to trust and open herself to a new relationship.

Facing expulsion from her father's home, Sonja answers a marriage proposal addressed to a dead friend. Meanwhile railroad worker Louis returns reluctantly to Michigan, where painful memories and mysterious messages force him to consider a different future.

Aristocrat Suzanne flees religious persecution with help from German peasant Johan, and both become indentured servants to reach America. Their growing love faces danger from her former fiancé and doubts about the validity of a shipboard wedding.

In Virginia in 1810, Martha hopes to enter a steeplechase and bring her young half-brother home from England. Horse breeder Phillip supports her plans, but their growing attachment faces danger from lingering British sympathizers.

Determined to prove she can run her family's inn, Maude secretly takes work as a hotel maid. Journalist Ben is also undercover, and their growing attraction faces exposure when his investigation threatens scandal among the island's wealthy guests.

Lilly inherits a house overflowing with teacups and is mistaken for a shopkeeper by a persistent engineer. His visits spark affection, but referrals from her supposed customer soon bring unwanted scrutiny from a rival business and the police.

During the unrest surrounding Pontiac's War, Mercy searches for both her missing father and colonial scout Shadrach. Reunited on Mackinac Island, she and Shad must protect a mysterious child while discovering whether love can survive the turmoil.

A yellow fever outbreak draws Cornelia home, while family losses force injured veteran Carter back to Dogwood Plantation. Caring for younger relatives brings them together as the War of 1812 threatens their uncertain hopes for healing.

Three generations of women spend a summer at their family's Mackinac-area cottage while considering work, retirement, and new beginnings. A concealed truth threatens to change the respite into a reckoning for everyone they love.

At the 1889 Michigan State Fair, quilter Sarah hopes a prize will help rebuild her life after repeated losses. Falling for Grant offers a new beginning until she discovers the dangerous ballooning work he has kept from her.

At Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel in 1895, two women face decisions that will reshape their work and romantic lives. Ada's secrets threaten a reunion, while young maid Sadie's choices could alter her family's future and the captain she loves.

Enslaved in Virginia, Letitia resolves to escape after a brutal family tragedy. A bookkeeper and his sea-captain friend risk their lives to carry two women north, facing pursuit and uncertainty about freedom, love, and the future.

A Canadian barrister turns to an American reformer and her new catering crew when his aristocratic family unexpectedly visits for Christmas. Their extended holiday plans challenge Eugenie's expectations and create opportunities for unfamiliar traditions and romance.

With nowhere else to go, Rachel settles in her late grandmother's Mackinac Island cottage and reluctantly takes work with a childhood adversary. Nearby families face revelations of their own as old secrets begin reshaping the summer.

Silversmith Magdalene leaves Philadelphia with a wagon train and unexpectedly reunites with Jacob, the man she loves. As conflict spreads through the Shenandoah Valley, building a future together becomes a struggle against the dangers of the frontier.

An economic downturn upends Jesse's privileged life while Maggie disguises herself as a boy to find work driving freight. Their paths cross again on Mackinac Island, where her struggle for employment brings a new threat to her safety.

A new lighthouse and retreat center draw families toward Mackinac Island as searches for two missing young women converge. Healing from their intertwined pasts opens the possibility of romance, but old obstacles still stand in the way.

When summer custody plans disrupt Alyssa's hopes for independence, she takes a nanny position with a widowed programmer on Mackinac Island. Unexpected family connections and a social worker's hidden links complicate their attempts to move forward.

Widowed librarian Paula returns to her family's Mackinac Island cottage and reconnects with a chef also grieving a spouse. Gardening draws them together, but revelations involving their children and extended families test the healing friendship they have begun.